Growing Up: Terror Twins
by IBrokeThe4thWall
Summary: While walking home from work, Ratchet comes across two abandoned younglings in an alley. Being a youngling medic, he couldn't and wouldn't leave them there. How will Ratchet fare with twins running amuck? AU, technically still my first fanfiction, rating will go up much later
1. Vagabonds

**Disclaimer: Fanfiction is fun in that you can pretend that you own these characters when in reality, you don't :D**

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A Ratchet and Terror Twins Story

Chapter One: Vagabonds

It was a freezing night-cycle on the planet Cybertron. Very few of the world's inhabitants were out due to the chill, and those that were had more than likely gotten over-energized and wandered about looking for a warm, peaceful place to recharge before the next morning's hangover. In Iacon, one particular red and white mech was hurrying back to his apartment so he could warm up under a thermal blanket and relax from a stressful work-cycle.

Ratchet worked for the YHPC (Youngling's Hospital of the Prime's Creations) as a medic and had had a long day of stubborn sparklings and younglings fighting their rudimentary scans and necessary shots. All that the good doctor wanted now was some Energon, read that data-pad he'd been meaning to finish, and a good recharge to finish out the cycle.

Ratchet was only a few blocks away from his home when he cut down an alleyway to curtail a little more time from his commute. Ratchet took this alley home every now and again when he worked later than usual. He knew he would be fine walking down it from experience, but he still unsubspaced his wrench just in case.

The alley was neither narrow nor wide. There was a dumpster at either end with warped, plastic boxes piled up around both of them; and a single lamp, too dim to light the entire way but bright enough to aid in sight until you reached the other side, hanging on the left wall. Ratchet was half-way through the alley when he heard the boxes by the dumpster behind him shift. He knew there were no glitch-mice down here, the buildings' owners kept the alleyway too clean for that, so that could only mean one thing—ambush.

_Not today,_ Ratchet thought as, on instinct, he lobbed his wrench right at the noise. The medic had naturally excellent aim, having taken Cyber-Archery in high school, and knew he had hit his mark when the shifting stopped, and a high-pitched scream of bloody murder and spark-breaking sobs came from the overturned boxes.

_I must have aimed low._ Ratchet winced a little to himself as he went towards the warped materials to retrieve his wrench and check on his unfortunate mugger. _Serves whoever it was right for trying to sneak up on me, though._ As the wails continued, the medic felt like something was amiss. _Why isn't he cursing me out? _Surely a thief on the streets would do that rather than cry?

Before the red and white mech got very close to the boxes however, Ratchet's wrench was flung clumsily back in his direction. If that didn't shock the medic, then the desperate pleas from a tiny voice buried in front of him did.

"Don' die, Sunny," the little voice sobbed. "I don' wanna be alone!" As the sentence ended in a spark-breaking wail, Ratchet began to quickly clear away the boxes. When he removed most of them from his view, what the medic saw broke his spark.

In front of him, in a small tattered box turned on its side, were two dirty little younglings, by all appearances just a vorn or two out of sparklinghood. One was dusty yellow, a pronounced dent in his helm, and out like a light in his smoky red friend's arms. The red youngling cradled the other closely and protectively, optics overflowing, and pierced Ratchet to the spark with a look of immense fear. They were both lying on an old and ratty thermal blanket, probably used as both a berth and covering, and a single crusted-over Energon cube was spilt behind them. Ratchet's spark clenched on him, guilt churning deep within it.

_Scrap, scrap, scrap, scrap, SCRAP! _Ratchet thought frantically. He had harmed a youngling, a baby even! It went against everything that he stood for! And by the look the yellow youngling's friend was giving him, he probably wouldn't be allowed to get close enough to even try to fix his mistake without scaring the red youngling even further. But Ratchet had to help, so he lowered himself to the ground, meeting the red youngling at optic level and trying to appear less intimidating.

"Wake up, Sunny," the red youngling begged quietly, watching the red and white medic's movements with terrified concentration. "Ya gotta wake up."

"Maybe I . . . would be able to help?" Ratchet asked softly.

The frightened youngling reacted just as the medic suspected and gathered his yellow friend closer. "Why?" It sounded more like an accusation than a question.

"I'm sorry youngling," Ratchet replied as he steadily reached behind himself for his wrench, trying to remove the instrument that caused this mess. "I thought I was about to be mugged."

The red youngling's helm locked on to where Ratchet's servo was heading and backed up quickly, still clutching the yellow form close to his chassis. Ratchet wasn't surprised that the youngling was afraid of him, or at the very least his wrench. The poor thing probably thought the medic was going to 'finish the job' and offline them both. To get rid of that thought, Ratchet quickly grabbed his wrench and subspaced it in clear view for the youngling.

"Don't worry, brightspark," Ratchet said soothingly as he slowly backed up, "that bad old wrench is gone now." He motioned to the general area around him. The red youngling didn't look very convinced and was still huddled in the farthest corner of the box from Ratchet. "I won't harm you or your friend. He's hurt and I'm a medic for younglings like you. That means I can help him. I can fix him."

The red youngling looked down at his yellow companion, cuddled him closer, and mumbled, "But-but doc-bots're always mean to us! They poke us and hurt us and do mean things! They say it's cause we're twins!" He looked up at Ratchet crying hard. "Promise ya not gonna do bad stuff!"

Ratchet was shocked. He was dealing with twins! Probably even split-sparks! He should have seen the similarities in frame and facial construction, but he was far more caught up in the injured youngling to notice. The "doc-bots" the red youngling was referring to must have been sparkling scientists that studied the development of split-spark twins, a rarity for their species. Judging from the red sparkling's fear, the scientists must have been extraordinarily cruel.

Ratchet looked the red youngling in the optic and smiled gently.

"I promise I won't hurt you or your brother, youngling; not all medics are mean," Ratchet crawled forward until he was only a small distance from the duo. He looked at the red youngling to see if he still had objections to his actions before sending a scan over the yellow youngling to find where his injury was most serious.

"What's that do?" the red twin asked in a frightened tone, curling closer to his companion.

Ratchet stopped his scan and took an intake. "I'm sorry, I didn't tell you what I was doing or what the scan did. It just tells me where he is hurt the most."

"Isn' that the dent?"

Ratchet cringed at the simple question and its possible nightmarish answers and decided to change topic as he restarted the scanner, "So, what are your designations?"

The red youngling looked at Ratchet in confusion. "Desi-whatsits?"

_Younglings_, Ratchet reminded himself. "Your names. I heard you call him Sunny, but maybe that's just your nickname for him."

The red youngling shrugged. "I'm Sideswipe; he's Sunstreaker. Why?"

"I just like knowing my patients is all." Ratchet stated, having finished his scan of the yellow youngling and found that, besides a lack of fuel, he was only knocked out. The dent, though large, hadn't caused any major damage. A huge weight lifted from the medic's shoulders. "Your brother is going be out of it for a while, but he'll be fine after a good rest," Ratchet smiled reassuringly as he moved a small magnet over Sunstreaker's dent to lift it a little.

Sideswipe's relieved yet teary smile lifted the medic's spirit somewhat, but their condition still had him worried. Where were these younglings' creators? Did they know where their creations were? Did they know what condition they were in? Why were these poor creatures in a cold alleyway by themselves?

"Listen," Ratchet started, gaining the red youngling's attention, "I've got some Energon at my place and a few extra thermal blankets. Would you like to stay with me until I can contact your creators? They must be worried about you."

Sideswipe shook his helm sadly. "We don't have any."

Ratchet spark sank. He knew that could mean several things, but he wouldn't pry into the situation. These poor younglings had just met him, under less than pleasant circumstances, and he needed to get them taken care of immediately.

"Well," he started shakily, "would you like to come with me anyway? I can't just leave you out here; it's freezing and Sunstreaker's dent needs to be buffed out. My place isn't that far away."

Sideswipe gave Ratchet a shocked look. The doc-bot wanted to take them with him? He wanted to_ fix_ Sunny? He stared at his unconscious brother and thought really, really hard. If they went with the bot that hurt Sunny, he might hurt them again accidentally or otherwise, or he might lying to them and dump them in a worse part of Iacon. But what if he was the one bot on the whole of Cybertron that might actually care for them? He did, after all, try and help his twin. He even offered them Energon and a warm place to stay. Sideswipe decided that the pros outweighed the cons.

Sideswipe looked at Ratchet and slightly loosened his grip on Sunstreaker, "Promise to fix his dent?" He had to be sure for the both of them, but anything was better than where they were at.

Ratchet's spark nearly burst from sadness and relief. "Yes, I promise to fix his dent." The medic then reached out and gently wiped away some of the red youngling's stray tears. "I also promise to give you a safe place to stay."

Satisfied, Sideswipe made a hesitant motion for Ratchet to pick them up. The medic did so gently, settling one youngling in each of his arms. Sideswipe sank with relief into the red and white shoulder as they left for Ratchet's apartment, leaving that unhappy alleyway behind.

*break*

The door to Ratchet's apartment slide open. The medic's home was a simple beige color and decently-sized. Coming in was a plain and simple living room with a white couch in the middle and a small metal Energon table in front of it. There was a vid-screen hanging on the wall with a shelf with a few data-pads beside it and a pot of Praxian crystals growing in the corner. Further in was an open concept kitchen with a hallway beside the Energon dispenser leading to the bedrooms and washracks. The lights were automatically lit to a dim setting due to the time.

"Here we are," Ratchet sighed before placing the younglings on his couch and going over to the Energon dispenser. He filled three cubes, two little and one big one, and dissolved some supplements in the twins' cubes. The medic handed a small cube to Sideswipe, saying, "Here you go. Drink it all up and you'll feel better."

Sideswipe eyed the cube for a full astrosecond before bringing it to his mouth plates eagerly. However, the red youngling had barely taken a sip when he was struck with a sudden thought. He pointed at Sunstreaker and asked, "How's Sunny gonna 'fuel?"

Ratchet pulled out a thermal blanket and his repair kit from the closet close to the door, saying, "He'll be fine. I'm going to feed the Energon straight into his fuel lines while I fix his dent; it'll be like he's on a drip." He returned to the couch and pulled the thermal blanket around the red youngling's shoulders before turning his attention to the unfortunate yellow twin.

Ratchet pulled out a thin tube with a needle attached to the end from his repair kit and stuck the open end into the bottom of the other small cube. Sideswipe shrunk back when he saw the needle and grabbed Sunstreaker's servo. He didn't know what a drip was, but he did know that the pointy bit on the end hurt like Pit going in. It _always_ hurt.

"Don't worry," Ratchet quickly soothed, "It will pinch a little, but it'll help make him feel better."

Ratchet gently removed Sideswipe's protective servo before the medic rubbed the yellow servo gently to find the right cable to feed Energon into. After finding it, he lifted the other end of the tube and gently slid the needle into Sunstreaker's little fuel lines, allowing gravity to pull the pink fluid into his systems. Sideswipe was watching all the while like a cyber-hawk, flinching when he felt the needle pinch into Sunny's system.

Since they were split-spark twins, they could feel when the other was hurt or in danger. However, the red youngling somewhat trusted Ratchet with his brother and focused on gulping down his own Energon. But Sideswipe would glance up at his brother every now and then in concern as Ratchet began buffing out little Sunstreaker's dent gently.

The medic was taking great care in not causing more damage to the softer metal. Youngling frames had to be handled carefully due to their more delicate and flexible consistency, which only made Ratchet feel all the worse for causing the injury.

By the time Sideswipe had finished his cube; Ratchet had finished fixing his brother's dent and had removed the empty, make-shift drip. The medic now sat in front of the couch, drinking his own cube of Energon while observing the younglings in front of him. Sideswipe had slid over to Sunstreaker's side and draped some of the thermal blanket over his yellow frame. With part of the blanket gone, Ratchet noticed that one of the Sideswipe's stabilizers was bent in an odd position and that he looked slightly uncomfortable when he moved. Now that the medic thought about it, the red youngling had only ever slid to move.

"Hey, Sideswipe," Ratchet said in concern, placing his half-empty cube on the table. "Are your stabilizers alright?"

Sideswipe looked down at his stabilizers, then to Ratchet, and nodded slowly.

"Are you sure? It looks twisted to me." Ratchet saw the youngling fidget. "I can fix your stabilizer, if you want. You can trust me to do that."

Sideswipe nodded again. "Yes, please."

Ratchet smiled and readjusted Sideswipe for easier access to the limb. It was quick work, a few disconnected wires and a bit of plating bent inwards were easy to fix, but the repairs took long enough for Sideswipe to start nodding off.

"Guess it's time for bed," Ratchet sighed.

He hefted the twins into his arms and carried them to his guest room. It was just as simple as the living room; a single white berth, a berth-side table, some more Praxian crystals growing in the corner, and a small desk with a lamp on top of it. Ratchet moved over to the berth and placed both younglings under the covers and a mesh-pillow under each helm. Sunstreaker unconsciously snuggled into the surface of the berth, but Sideswipe tiredly on-lined his optics.

"Night-night, Hatchet," Sideswipe mumbled as he curled up to his brother. "Thank you."

"Good-night, Sideswipe," Ratchet replied gently, not even remotely bothered by the incorrect name.

Ratchet pulled the thermal blankets up to their chins and backed towards the door. He turned off the lights as he left the room, looking over his shoulder to see Sideswipe clinging Sunstreaker to his chassis.

_They're too young to be alone,_ Ratchet thought sadly._ Younglings should live with their creators not on the streets._ Ratchet shook his head to clear his thoughts but stopped when he felt a small tear roll down his cheek. He wiped it away then continued to his room. Recharge would not come easily.

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**Review if you like to make the writer happy.**


	2. Making Calls

**Disclaimer: Remember to always return what you borrow. :P**

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Chapter Two: Making Calls

The next day, Ratchet reluctantly woke to the buzz of his internal alarm; it had been a lengthy night for the medic. He spent most, if not all, of the night-cycle worrying about the younglings in his guest room, wondering if they were recharging well or if they needed anything. At some point, Ratchet had stolen out of his room to check on Sideswipe and Sunstreaker to make sure they were alright. He even put a cube of coolant on the nightstand, just in case they got too warm from all of the thermal blankets he had layered on top of them.

As he lifted his frame from the berth, Ratchet checked his internal chronometer and swore to himself. How many times did he activate the snooze function on his alarm? The day-cycle started breems ago! He had to get to the hospital and take care of the younglings there. He had appointments to attend. He had to get moving now! But what about his guests? He couldn't just leave Sideswipe and Sunstreaker here all alone, but the YHPC didn't have a day-care.

He left his room, got a cube of Energon from the dispenser, and returned to call the YHPC on his comm. screen to tell them he couldn't come in this cycle. It was too late for him to find a sparkling-sitter, and quite frankly Ratchet was too tired to really bother trying.

"Good morning, Ratchet," his boss greeted kindly. "What can I do for you?"

Ratchet took an intake before quickly exhaling, "I can't come in to work today, Catscan."

Catscan, a black femme with pointy, rotatable sensory horns and amber optics, flashed her optics in annoyance. She bent her horns back somewhat and growled, "Why can't you make it? You know you can't just drop the 'hooky' bomb on me. I need to be told you want a day off in advance. Who is going to take care of your appointments if you don't come in, the new intern?"

"I know, but when I came home from work last night," Ratchet began, "I took a shortcut down an alley. I heard something moving behind a pile of the boxes there, and I accidentally knocked out an abandoned youngling and freaked out his brother. It was cold outside and I couldn't very well leave the injured youngling or his brother there so I took them to my apartment and fixed them up. They're still in recharge in my guestroom."

When Ratchet finished his brief recounting of events, Catscan's annoyance turned into shock and her sensory horns perked straight up. "Take a deca-cycle for sick leave to get the situation handled. I'll see to your appointments."

"Thank you, Catscan," Ratchet said. The red and white mech was about to cut the line, but the black femme made a noise to get his attention.

"Ratchet, you should call the Youngling Services," Catscan advised. "They will find a family for these younglings to live with and you will know that they are in good care. It is well that you were the one to find them."

The femme promptly terminated the line.

Ratchet sighed as he leaned back in his chair and shuttered his optics. _I know I have to call Youngling Services, but they're horrible with siblings__._

He finished his cube and looked at the wall that separated him from his guestroom. Making up his mind, Ratchet left his room and looked in on the two vagabond younglings. Sideswipe was still clinging onto Sunstreaker, and the yellow youngling had moved so that he was hugging Sideswipe back. They were in deep recharge, and Ratchet could only smile sadly. They looked so peaceful together, and to think that someone would just abandon them like it was nothing.

_Maybe . . . _The medic shook his helm and wandered to the living room, leaving the door open a crack so that when the younglings woke up later they wouldn't feel trapped.

Ratchet sat down on his couch and sighed. _What am I going to do?_ The medic shifted his gaze to the part of his couch where the twins sat the night-cycle before. Brown dust and grime were caked all over it, causing Ratchet to smirk. _Give them a bath._

The medic checked the time again. Youngling Services should hopefully have receptionists on their vid screens by now. Ratchet returned to his room, logged in to his comm. system, and muscled through the annoying waiting music.

* * *

It was a quiet noise, like a sigh, that woke Sunny up. At first, he thought that it was just Sides, the ever-paranoid elder twin, keeping an eye out for Enforcers. But then he noticed some things that told him otherwise. He felt warm and comfortable, for starters, like he was on something soft; but his helm hurt like Pit!

Sunny on-lined his optics and shot up like a bullet as he took in the bland room around him, waking Sides in the process. Where was their box? Why were they in a stranger's berth? Why was Sideswipe so calm?! Who decorated this room!? The whole while Sunny was freaking out over their surroundings, Sides was rubbing his arm and sending soothing pulses over the bond.

**: Sunny? What's up?: **his brother asked over what they affectionately called their Twin Tie.

**: Where're we? What happened?: **the yellow youngling nearly yelled. He shot frantic looks all around the room they were in before bouncing off of the berth and onto the floor.

**: We're safe.:** the red youngling stated, slowly following his twin to the floor. **: Hatchet took us home with him and fixed you up.:**

**: Who's Hatchet?: **Sunstreaker asked hysterically.

**: The nice doc-bot that hit your face with a wrench.: **Sideswipe replied almost cheerfully.

Just as Sunny was about to retort that hitting his helm made the doc-bot a meanie; he froze and looked at the slightly opened door. He slowly sneaked over to the opening and peeked into the hallway. The yellow youngling carefully put the side of his helm to the crack in the doorway, allowing his audio fin to stick out through it. Nobody thought much of the strange things framing his faceplates, but Sunny and Sides both knew of their uses, especially in hearing. Although he wasn't all that practiced with it, Sunstreaker had kept himself and his brother out trouble many times thank to his helm fins. That being said, Sunstreaker heard voices talking about them coming from another room and used the Twin Tie to let Sides listen in as well.

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"Thank you for calling Iacon's Youngling Services," the femme-bot of a thin frame-type, a deep orange paintjob with green flames, and had tiny wings with headlights sticking out of her back plating recited pleasantly. "My designation is Torque, how may I be of service?"

Torque? That was a name that didn't _quite _fit with youngling care. Neither did her paintjob, but then the medic considered himself. While his red and white paintjob said "medic", the designation "Ratchet" didn't necessarily scream kind towards younglings. Ratchet shoved his thoughts to the side; he had business to attend to.

"Uh, yes," Ratchet began. "My designation is Ratchet. I had found a set of abandoned twins, just out of sparkling-hood, last night-cycle and allowed them to stay in my home for fuel and recharge. They were in very poor condition when I brought them home and they needed repairs to their frames done."

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**: The YS . . . he's calling us in!: **Sunstreaker exclaimed over the Tie. **: We have to leave before they try to take us away!:**

**: You sure?: **Sides asked spark sinking. **: Hatchet was so nice. . . .:**

**: Positive.: **Sunny growled back.

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"The poor dears," Torque sympathized, true concern shining in her optics, and pulled out a data-pad, jotting down some notes. "But the younger they are brought in the better. Once you've told me your address I will send an agent to collect them. Youngling Services will surely find caretakers for each of the younglings. You can rest assured knowing that they will be well cared for."

After Ratchet gave the orange femme his apartment number, he was struck by something that she said.

"Wait, do you mean a different caretaker for each youngling?" Torque nodded with a slightly confused look on her faceplates, as if wondering if the medic had a hearing problem. Ratchet wasn't surprised; he knew that the YS would separate siblings without a second thought and it made him angry. No, angry was putting it delicately. It flat out made him volatile. "You can't separate them. They need each other!"

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Sides perked up when the voice said that. **: Did you hear that:**

**: That doesn' mean anything: **Sunny brushed it off as nothing.**: No one gets it: **Sunny muttered definitely over the bond, reaching out to grab his red twin's black servo. No one understood what they were. Why else would their creator do what he did? They were both freaks, and no one wanted them. He quickly shoved the door the rest of the way open and crept down the hall. Which way would get them out of here? Not once in the entire time Sunny tried to find a way out with Sides did he take his audios off of the conversation going on between the adults.

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"I'm sorry, sir," Torque replied calmly. "It might be difficult for them to adjust to not having each other at first, but they'll make it through in the end."

That only enraged Ratchet further. "That's just it! They're twins! Split-sparks! They'll off-line before the cycle they were separated is through!"

* * *

Sides, hearing what Hatchet had said, gripped Sunny's hand a little tighter, and whispered over the bond:** Hatchet gets it.:**

Sunny glared at his brother and seethed**: That only goes so far! They'll still take us. They'll take you! I . . . I don't want to be alone anymore: **

The final sentence was nothing but a whimper. But it was so sincere that Sides was sure that if any YS bot could hear it, they would keep the two brothers together for sure. That being said, sadness rose within Sideswipe, knowing that was an impossible wish. No one could hear what they shared. Nobody cared enough to even ask. But then the red youngling thought of Hatchet. Maybe he . . . more conversation drew Sides away from his thoughts.

* * *

"Don't get snippy with me!" Torque revved, glaring at the medic and twitching her wings involuntarily. "What would you have me do? The fosters we have that usually care for more than one youngling or sparkling have only one or no open slots left. And what if the youngling twins that you found were put up for adoption? Who would be willing to raise more them and give both the care they need?"

"I am."

Ratchet was surprised by his own determination. He knew the question was rhetorical, but he was beyond serious. He wouldn't allow Sideswipe and Sunstreaker be torn away from each other by bots who didn't understand the bond they shared.

"But sir, I-"

Ratchet interrupted Torque firmly, "I have a well-paying job at the Youngling's Hospital of the Prime's Creations; the experience, seeing as I'm a medic for younglings; and," he growled out, "I will _not_ have them separated." He sounded harsh and he meant to. Couldn't Torque see that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe needed to stay together? "They need each other, and I can take care of them. . . . Please."

* * *

Sides didn't need to hear more than that. From what little time he spent with Hatchet, Sideswipe knew that he meant what he said and would follow through. The red youngling sent a happy pulse over the Twin Tie to tell his brother he could stop. He was met with a distrustful wave in return and a grudging lowering of audio sensitivity.

Sunny turned around with his usual scowl on his faceplates and stalked over to the door the doc-bot was behind. Sideswipe was confused. His brother's distrusting waves were directed at the doc-bot, but why? Hatchet was helping them. He was a nice doc-bot, or nice to them anyway.

**: What's up Sunny: **Sides had to ask.

**: I don't like it: **Sunny looked at the door. **: Hatchet could be lying. He could be just li—:**

Sunny suddenly upped the sensitivity on his audio fins and blocked Sides side of the Tie. If his brother didn't want to hear what was said then fine, he didn't have to. Sunny didn't respond to any of the red youngling's poking or prodding to know what the yellow youngling was doing. When Sunny opened his side back up again, his scowl shrank.

* * *

A long silence stretched between the medic and the YS receptionist, during which they competed in a silent battle of wills. Ratchet's sincere desire to keep the twins happy and together and Torque's desire of assisting younglings in general were worthy opponents.

After the third breem, Torque finally sighed and relented. "Fine, I'll comm. my advisor and see what I can do." Her optics glazed over as the comm. link activated. It was a good while before Torque spoke aloud to Ratchet again.

She gave him a wry smile and said, "He told me to go interview you myself and see if you qualify as a caretaker. Most bots do—and if what you tell me is true then you definitely qualify—but they just don't want the responsibility of caring for another life." Torque paused before adding, "Just make sure that they have the basics, a place to sleep and Energon to refuel with, when I get there. You should be fine."

"Thank you, Torque," Ratchet whispered, at a cross between disbelief and relief. "When will you be coming?"

"I can get there tomorrow, a joor after the work-cycle starts," Torque replied. "Good-bye Ratchet." The vid screen went black.

* * *

**: I still don't like it.: **Sunny reiterated. **: Do you trust him Sides? Like, really trust him.:**

**: Yep: **Sideswipe answered without hesitation and with full honest. **: He fixed you, gave us fuel, and let us stay here. Course I trust Hatchet.:**

**: I think you trust too easy, Sides.: **Sunny said begrudgingly. **: I heard the lady-bot he was talking say she was coming. She said that we could stay with Hatchet. And if you trust him, then I say we stay.:**

This made Sides so happy that he couldn't help but let out a cheer. **: I told you Hatchet was nice! We can stay! We can stay!:**

* * *

Ratchet heavily vented the intake he didn't know he was holding. He couldn't believe it. The twins would stay together! They would be safe with him, and they would never be on the streets again. That was when it finally hit Ratchet that he was officially adopting Sideswipe and Sunstreaker as his own. Instead of fearing his rash decision, however, Ratchet was elated and focused on what he knew he had to do.

_I have to get new furniture, repaint, buy toys, look into education centers and upgrades. . ._

These thoughts and more reeled through the medic's processor, and he would have contemplated further if it weren't for a sudden squeal coming from outside of his door. The medic shot towards it like an acid-bullet, letting the door slide open to find Sideswipe and Sunstreaker tumbling onto his pedes.

* * *

While Sideswipe was overjoyed for their good fortune, Sunstreaker still had his doubts. What if the doc-bot regretted taking them in? What if they did something that Hatchet didn't like and he sent them to the YS anyway? His thoughts were dispelled, however, when the door that he and his brother were leaning on flew open.

Sunny and Sides tumbled into the room and fell onto white pedes. The twins looked up and saw the doc-bot that found them smiling at them and laughing gently.

"So, how much of that did you hear?"

Sideswipe was overjoyed. He so happy he couldn't answer the question with his vocal processor, so the red youngling did the next best thing: he jumped up as high as he could and gave Hatchet's leg a mighty cyber-bear hug, laughing and smiling like there was no tomorrow. Sunstreaker was happy for his brother, but he needed more. He needed to know for himself. He pulled himself up to sit on the white ped, trying to find the words to say.

"I'll take that as all of it." White arms wrapped around both younglings, lifting the twins to his chassis.

It made Sunny feel safe and secure, but he needed to know now. Sunny needed to know that this was all real and not a cruel joke. He pushed himself up so he could look Hatchet right in the eye and asked the only thing he could think of.

* * *

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker fit just right in the medic's arms, and that was where they would stay. That is until Sunstreaker pulled himself upwards. Ratchet became nervous. The yellow youngling had never seen him before and had no reason to trust the medic that nailed him in the helm with a wrench.

"Do you mean it?"

The simple question melted away any nerves Ratchet held and caused him to smile gently. He bent his neck cables forward so his fore-helm touched Sunstreaker's and replied, "I mean every word."

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**I thank IAmStarscream for the help on the twins points of view. Torque is my character, and she will be coming back later. Why is Ratchet so touchy about siblings being separated, hmm? Review please. . . . That just made me think of an old sketch comedy program called The Amanda Show. Man, I wish she was still normal.**


	3. Shopping

**Disclaimer: Stealing is against the law, secret borrowing is against good judgment, fanfiction writers don't care either way.**

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Chapter Three: Shopping

After Sides and Sunny had cuddled in his neck cables for a while, Ratchet took the younglings into his kitchen for morning Energon cubes. He tried to set them down at the kitchen table, but the twins only clung tighter to his chassis. As a result, the medic ended up with a lap full of grimy younglings, guzzling down fuel, while he sat on his couch. Ratchet didn't really mind though; he didn't want Sideswipe using his recently repaired stabilizer yet and he thought that Sunstreaker's equilibrium chip might not be working properly because of his helm injury.

He didn't once think that the both of the younglings were just too happy to finally have someone who cared about them to even think of letting go of the medic.

Sunstreaker was glancing around the apartment tensely as he downed his Energon, while Sideswipe just leaned into Ratchet's chassis, his cube never leaving his lip plates. Ratchet, noticing the yellow youngling's unease, wrapped his servo around yellow plating comfortingly.

"Don't worry, Sunstreaker, nothing's going to get you; but, Sideswipe, if you don't slow down on your Energon you'll choke."

The red youngling gave Ratchet a guilty look. He knew not to drink Energon fast, but it was so good! He had always shared what meager fuel he had found with Sunstreaker. And more often than not, what they drank was among the second-rate slop that the fuel places threw out after fueling times. The Energon that Ratchet had given them, though; it was sweet, smooth, and smelled so nice! And the doc-bot even gave them a full cube each! But Sideswipe didn't want to gag and leave Sunstreaker alone. Sunny hated being alone and he hated it too.

"Don' wanna choke," Sides mumbled, slowing down on his half-full cube. Sunstreaker followed soon after, sensing his red twin's thoughts.

"It's alright," Ratchet said soothingly. "I wouldn't let you choke in any case." The medic decided it was time to change to a more pleasant subject. "So, did you two recharge well? How did you like the guestroom?"

The red twin nodded enthusiastically. "Best 'charge ever! Crystals got a pretty glow!"

Sunstreaker, finishing his cube, shook his helm in the contrary. "Nu-uh, it's borin' in there."

"What don't you like about it, Sunny?" A little constructive criticism would help Ratchet care for the young pair. What would a youngling now about interior design anyway?

"It's borin'," the yellow youngling reiterated. "Its color is dull and there's nu'in' to do. Nu'in' gets your attention but the crystal." Sunstreaker stopped with a thoughtful look. "It's a pretty crystal, though."

Sideswipe looked up at Ratchet and smiled at the dumbstruck medic. "Sunny would watch the fix-it channel in the shoppin' district."

Ratchet felt one of his optics twitch. _It took me deca-cycles to put that room together! And why is a youngling watching the home improvement channel if he's living in a box? _But Ratchet caught himself. Sunstreaker wasn't living in a box anymore; the yellow youngling could use whatever knowledge he gained to his advantage now.

Ratchet looked down at the two younglings and smiled, "Well, why don't we make that room more to your liking today?"

Both twins looked up at the medic and simultaneously asked, "How?"

Ratchet chuckled at the duo, saying "By going into town."

*line*

The shopping center at Iacon had everything: restaurants, movie theaters, music stores, pet stores, toy stores, and so much more! Ratchet knew that at some point he would be dragged through each and every door. But as for now, the medic was holding both Sideswipe's and Sunstreaker's servos, standing outside of the youngling furniture store. It was the last place on Cybertron Ratchet thought he'd ever have to go, but here he was right in front of it. A small yank on his servo brought his attention to the red youngling to his right. Glancing down, Ratchet saw a look of unease on Sideswipe's faceplates.

The medic knelt down and placed his servo on the youngling's shoulder, asking, "What's wrong, Sideswipe?"

Sideswipe shuffled his pedes before mumbling, "Never been in a store before."

Ratchet gave the youngling a small smile and ran his servo down Sideswipe's arm. "It's alright, just stick close to me and you'll be fine."

With that said Ratchet stood back up, reclaimed the black servo in his red one, and went into the building. The store had three wide levels, berth sets and single pieces scattered and clustered around the area of the each and every floor. Ratchet honestly thought that the store would be obnoxiously loud with younglings running away from their oblivious creators to jump on the furniture and screaming to hear their voices echo from the ceiling. In reality, everyone in the store was relatively quiet, minus the occasional yell from a rowdy sparkling who honestly liked the reverberation his voice caused. A mostly blue femme-bot with white highlights came over when she saw the medic walk in.

"Welcome to the Youngling Furniture Superstore," she said cheerfully. "My name is Cobalt. Is there any way I can be of assistance?"

Ratchet felt the twins shuffle to hide behind him when Cobalt stood in front of them, but he brushed it off as shyness. "Yes, uh, could you tell me where the bunk sets are, Cobalt?"

Cobalt smiled and checked the screen of the datapad in her servos. She looked up at Ratchet and said, "Yes, they are on the second floor in the west wing. Follow me and I'll lead you to them." She started walking towards the stairs.

Ratchet gently pulled Sideswipe and Sunstreaker along as they followed the clerk. She didn't move to quickly, so the twins could climb up the stairs by themselves and not trip over their own pedes as Cobalt made her way to the requested area. With a few turns and a little back-tracking, the clerk-bot finally directed Ratchet to a cluster of bunk sets.

"Here we are, sir," Cobalt said as she turned to face the medic. "Please let me know if you need anything else."

She left them and Ratchet began looking at the varying kinds of bunks and sets. There was a variety of bunks from tall and skinny silver ones, ones that had varying themes, to bunks that spun around so that siblings wouldn't fight for who was on top or bottom. It would have taken a while for Ratchet to find a place to start if he hadn't already thought to keep things basic. The twins probably weren't that picky, and all of the fancy bunk sets were just too over the top anyway.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were hovering near his stabilizers while he was walking around a certain bunk. It was orange, had metal rod barriers so no one would fall over the sides, it was wide enough that if they wanted to they could share a bunk, and the whole thing was only slightly taller than himself. It looked perfect to him, but he needed the twins' input to make his decision. They were going to be the one recharging on it, not him.

"What do you two think of this one?" Ratchet asked, coming down to eye level with the red and yellow younglings.

The twins looked at the berth, seeing it but not at the same time. In their minds what they saw was a boat floating on the rust ocean, a castle with a techno-dragon guarding its treasures, a space ship that could fly them to alien planets.

"Yep," Sunstreaker said when he decided that he had seen enough.

Ratchet took in the yellow youngling's thoughtful expression before dryly asking, "You've already got a color scheme to go with it, don't you?" Sunstreaker nodded and Ratchet smirked in amusement. "It has a matching dresser and chest; let's go tell Cobalt that we found our set."

* * *

After Ratchet and the twins hunted down Cobalt to buy the bunk set, the medic took them down the street to the hardware store for paint. The bunk, dresser, and chest would be at his apartment building by late mid-cycle, and Ratchet wanted to have the guestroom repainted by then.

Once they were inside the store, Ratchet lifted the twins up and placed them inside of a cart. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker watched the passing isles and ducked away from other shoppers as Ratchet headed for the paint center. It was two full aisles of nothing else but paint colors and premixed cans. The medic walked up to the corner of the aisle covered with color cards and looked at Sunstreaker.

"Alright, Sunstreaker," Ratchet said, gaining the mentioned youngling's attention, "I want you to choose which color you two want."

He pulled the cart up so that the pair inside could see the wall of cards with ease. Bypassing the colors that would absolutely and horribly clash with the furniture, Sunstreaker gazed at the massive wall of color.

**: What do you think, Sides?: **Sunny asked his brother over their Tie. **: If we get orange paint, we might not like it.:**

**: Why?: **Sides was confused. **: Wouldn't it match the berth?:**

**: Yes.:** Sunstreaker sighed through their Twin Tie. **: But if ya get too much of one color you might get sick 'cause of it.:**

Sideswipe scrunched up his olfactory sensor. **: No orange, I don' wanna purge!:**

**: What 'bout that blue?: **Sunstreaker asked, nudging Sideswipe towards a sky blue card placed right next to an orange that resembled that of their new berths. **: It would be a int'resting c'ntrast.:**

**: Whatever ya say, Sunny.: **Sideswipe shrugged, struggling to see things the way his brother did. **: You're the one watchin' the fix-it channel.:**

Sunstreaker huffed; his brother would never understand the art of interior design. But then again, he barely understood it. He just liked how certain colors looked together in sometimes unexpected ways.

"That one," Sunstreaker pointed at sky blue card.

"Blue, huh," Ratchet muttered. Sunstreaker nodded and the medic pulled out one of the blue color cards from the wall.

Ratchet pushed the cart over to counter with the paint mixer and gave the color card to the mech that handled the machine. After waiting for the two cans of paint to be mixed up, the medic gathered up needed supplies and headed over to the checkout lane. He paid for the paint, brushes, rollers, and pans then left with the twins.

Outside of the store, Ratchet sub-spaced the painting supplies, transformed into his red and white emergency vehicle mode, and ushered the twins into his cab.

"We goin' back now?" Sideswipe asked as the medic clicked his safety belts over him and Sunny.

"Yes," Ratchet said through his dashboard speakers, "but our cycle isn't over yet."

"What else we gotta do?" Sunstreaker asked gripping the belt as Ratchet pulled into traffic.

"We have to redesign next," Ratchet said, taking a left turn. "But that should be easy, and then we have to paint."

That made both younglings happy; even when they were living in an alleyway, they loved organizing things. Stacking their boxes in new patterns was their favorite thing to do when they thought an Enforcer wasn't chasing after them. They didn't know how to paint from experience, but Sunstreaker had always wanted to try his servo at it. The rest of the cycle would be fun.

* * *

**Review, review, review. That is what you must do!**


	4. Surprises

**Author's Note: So here we are everybody. The final revised chapter. There's a little shout out to one of my good friends towards the end of this chapter.**

* * *

Chapter Four: Surprises

When they got back to Ratchet's apartment, the medic immediately led Sideswipe and Sunstreaker to the used-to-be guestroom/soon-to-be their room and began to unsubspace the paint cans, brushes and rollers, and pans. He placed them all on the floor by the door and looked over to see curious looks on the younglings' faceplates.

"Whatcha doin'?" Sideswipe asked, leaning over Ratchet's arm to look at the paint cans.

"I'm clearing out my subspace so it's not so hard for me to walk around," Ratchet stated then, jabbing his thumb towards the door behind him, said, "Want to help me clear out the room?"

"Can the crystals stay?" Sunstreaker asked hopefully, clasping his servos over his chest plating.

"Yeah, they're pretty," Sideswipe agreed with an emphatic nod.

"Of course the crystals are staying," Ratchet scoffed gently, crossing his arms as if insulted. "You've already told me more than once how much you two like them. I'll just move them into the living room so they're out of the way."

With an empty subspace, Ratchet opened the door to the sparsely decorated room and the twins rushed inside. Before Ratchet could even shutter his optics or give a word of advice, Sunstreaker was standing on Sideswipe's shoulders and flipping open a hidden panel on the berth they slept in only the night-cycle before. A shiny red button was hidden underneath that panel; and when Sunstreaker pressed it, the berth folded in on itself, quickly forming an easily stored cube the size of one of Ratchet's regular Energon cubes.

That little button made Cybertronian furniture easy to store and transport, which was why the twins' new berths were going to be there in a few mega-cycles. That same button also caused most younglings to be surprised when they were first shown how their rooms were put together. These two street-dwellers were not, however, which shocked Ratchet more than the fact that they knew where the button was. Sideswipe lowered his brother and they both pushed the cubified berth towards the surprised medic.

As Ratchet knelt down to pick up the cube, he shook off his surprise and gave the twins a smirk. "You two saw that on the home-improvement channel." It was a statement, but the twins nodded anyway. "Well, let's get the rest of this cleared out then, shall we?"

It only took a few more astro-seconds for the process to finish since there wasn't much in the room to begin with, and the lamp folded in with the desk it was attached to. After stacking the three cubes out in the hallway, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker started to pull the paint supplies in to get ready while Ratchet carried the potted crystals out to the living room. He had set the crystals on the Energon table and was on his second trip in with the furniture when his door was kicked in.

"Iacon Enforcers! On the ground with yer servos in th' air!"

Ratchet just gave his doorway an exasperated look before continuing his way to put the furniture in the storage closet. The medic then thought of Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, who might not take to the intruders so lightly. _I swear I need to get a security system, if only for the twins' sakes._

"I have a doorbell, you know," Ratchet stated without looking at the 'intruders'. He was used to most of his visitors coming in on the fly anyway, which was why he hardly locked his door when he came home. It was just his neighbor Prowl, his energetic bondmate Jazz, and their two creations Smokescreen and Bluestreak. Jazz was carrying Bluestreak in one arm while the other was pointed forward like a blaster.

To go into basic detail about the family, Prowl was a black and white Praxian with a red chevron and as loyal to his job as he was his bondmate and creations. Jazz was a black and white song-writing femme who sang at youngling centers and sometimes the local Energon bar for fun and some spare credits. Smokescreen was an orange and blue Praxian-build mechling with a yellow chevron, their oldest creation, and the most likely to lose all of his credits and then win them back with interest in a Kaon casino if he ever had the chance. Bluestreak was a gray and red Praxian-build femme, about as old as the twins, and could out talk a Cybertronian High Council member; but she mostly rambled. And the whole lot of them, with much reluctance from Prowl, often barged into Ratchet's apartment without so much as a howdy-do to let him know in advance.

Not that the medic really cared. Ironically, whether or not someone knocked on his door was one of the few ways he could tell if the visitor was friendly or some sorry slagger trying to rob him.

"I keep telling them that, Ratchet," Prowl sighed in defeat. "They won't listen, _and_ they're not even supposed to be here." The last part had an edge to it directed towards his bondmate, who didn't so much as flicker an optic.

Ratchet stopped just in front of the hallway and glanced at the Enforcer suspiciously. A legit Enforcer inspection? What had the medic even done? "If you haven't come to visit, why are you here?"

Just as Prowl opened his mouth to answer, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker charged out of the hallway, letting out battle cries and waving around a brush and paint can key respectively. They ran in front of Ratchet and took up sloppy, defensive stances as they faced the black and white Enforcer. They almost immediately relaxed even as Prowl noticeably stiffened.

"Hey, Sunny," Sideswipe pointed at Prowl with his paintbrush, "ain't that the same 'forcer from all those times before?"

"Yeah, Sides," Sunstreaker agreed in surprise, dropping the key seeing as there was no use for it. If they needed to get away, Ratchet would be there to hold the black and white mech off while they ran. "It _is_ the same one. Whatcha doin' here Mr. 'Forcer?"

Prowl only stared at the two younglings and twitched his doorwings ever so slightly. He murmured something that sounded vaguely like 'little terrors' before he fell to the floor in a useless heap as his processor crashed.

"Papa!" Bluestreak wailed as Jazz shoved her into Smokescreen's servos. "Stay away from the light, Papa, stay away!"

"Don' worry, sweetie," Jazz soothed as she lifted Prowl onto her back. "He's just sleepin'." She turned to Ratchet with a pleading look. "Can he use your berth until he wakes up?"

Ratchet nodded and lifted up the twins, who were startled by the suddenly fainted mech. "Yes, I'll check on him later."

"Does that happen a lot?" Sideswipe asked, not understanding why the grown Enforcer had keeled over so suddenly.

"Only when he is overwhelmed by the illogical," Smokescreen replied, holding his little sister to his chest-plating to calm her down. "And that is actually why we're here."

Jazz quickly carried her bondmate to the requested berth as Smokescreen filled Ratchet in on why Prowl and his family were in his apartment. They were sitting in the medic's kitchen as the mechling explained what was what while his sister tried to see what is was about the twins that made her sire so tired.

"Dad was told to inspect your apartment by the chief of Enforcers, and Mom was curious as to why they were sending an Enforcer here in the first place. You're, like, one of the most law-abiding mechs we know, so we knew it couldn't be something bad, but even then I wouldn't have wagered it was because of these two." Smokescreen tilted his helm towards Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.

Ratchet nodded and looked down at the twins sitting on his lap. "I guess the YS agency sends a notice to the Enforcers to make sure the younglings and sparklings they adopt out are in good homes."

"Speakin' of," Jazz began as she came back from putting Prowl in Ratchet's room, "how did ya even come across these two?" She gestured to the twins. "They've been givin' Prowler the slip for two vorns now, an' he's one of th' best Enforcers Iacon has. And what made ya want to _adopt_ 'em?"

Ratchet glanced at Sideswipe and Sunstreaker questioningly, and they both shrugged. Sunny simply stated, "It's not our fault he looked mean."

"And Dr. Ratchet didn't?" Bluestreak asked, moving closer to the yellow youngling out of curiosity. "He can be really scary if you make him mad enough, like if you're late for a check-up. This one time Mama got me in five breems late and Dr. Ratchet smacked her with a wrench. How come Dr. Ratchet didn't look mean to you?"

Sunny just rubbed his helm as Sides chirped, "He never got the chance to look 'cause Hatchet smacked him in the helm too. Sunny never really saw him until this mornin'."

At the shocked concern on Jazz's faceplates, Ratchet gave her and the younglings a quick run-down of the previous night-cycle and earlier that morning. "And that's pretty much what happened. Any other questions you want to ask?"

"Sides and Sunny got you pegged, calling you Hatchet and all," Smokescreen mused lowly.

"You took those younglin's in public lookin' like that!?" Jazz said, motioning to the twins and their filthy frames in the medic's arms.

Ratchet then remembered when Sideswipe and Sunstreaker hid behind his legs at the furniture store and ducked as they passed people in the hardware store. They were feeling self-conscious not shy! Who wouldn't when they're surrounded by polished floors and other clean things?

"Oops," the one word that no medic ever wanted to utter passed through Ratchet's lips.

"Well, can we help ya with anythin'?" Jazz asked.

"Yeah," Ratchet said standing up and moving towards the twins' now empty bedroom, the red and yellow younglings still settled in his grip. "You can help us paint. I really want these walls dry before their furniture gets here."

* * *

Ratchet, Jazz, and Smokescreen rolled the paint high onto the walls as the twins and Bluestreak painted the lower half. At some point Sideswipe had claimed that Bluestreak wasn't living up to her name because she wasn't blue, so he ran his wet paintbrush over one of her doorwings. Bluestreak retaliated lightheartedly by swiping hers over his chest. And when Sunstreaker laughed at his brother, the gray and red younglings shared a look and the yellow youngling ended up with blue helm fins. This led into a full on paint war between the younglings that Ratchet had to mediate.

"We want the walls painted guys," the medic gently admonished. "Not each other. Okay?"

The younglings nodded solemnly and Ratchet returned to his paint roller. The red and white mech paused however when he heard Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, and Bluestreak giggling behind him. When he turned to see if they had gone back to painting each other again, the medic found that they were only painting the walls. What Ratchet didn't realize was that when he had his attention on the younglings Jazz had slathered a big blue splotch on the medic's back.

Clueless to the mess on his back and ignoring the snickering younglings, Ratchet continued to paint the walls. Sometime after they finished painting, the medic and his guests moved into the living room to unwind and wait for the twins' furniture to arrive.

Smokescreen had pulled out his favorite pack of cards and began to play a game of solitaire while Ratchet checked on Prowl, and Jazz watched Sunny, Sides, and Blue color on multiple drawing-pads that she had stored in her subspace. Ratchet returned to the living room and announced that Prowl would be up and about in a few breems.

After a cheer from Bluestreak and Smokescreen and Jazz noticeably relaxed, there was a buzz for Ratchet about a package at the front desk he had to sign for. The medic had just come back with the small cubes of furniture when Prowl walked out of his room holding his helm and muttering something about 'primary colored Pit-spawns'.

Sideswipe was the first to see the Enforcer coming and asked, "Are you gonna crash again?"

Prowl slowly looked at the red youngling then at his brother and Bluestreak. They were all covered in sky blue paint. The stressed Enforcer took an intake and said in a mildly strained tone, "Very likely, youngling."

"Okay," Sideswipe smiled cheerfully and turned back to what he was doing with his brother and new friend. It turned out that Sunny was really good at drawing.

"Jazz, would you fill Prowl in on the situation?" Ratchet asked as he closed his door and went to the newly painted room. "I'm going to see how the twins want this set up."

While Jazz told Prowl what he had missed because of his crash, Ratchet took the twins into their new room and set down the furniture cubes. Sunstreaker took over immediately. He grabbed the cube that contained the bunks, shoved it into the corner farthest from the door, and released the furniture so that it could be seen lengthwise from the door. He then went for the dresser cube and set it up to the wall opposite to the berths. The chest was placed against the wall furthest from the berths. It actually looked good, if still a little bare.

Sunstreaker huffed when he was done. "As good as it's gonna get."

Ratchet released a sigh-like laugh and rubbed the yellow youngling's helm. "Well, it'll get better with time, and we still have those crystals to place."

Both the yellow youngling and medic were surprised when Sideswipe let out a squeal, and both turned to see him bouncing on the tips of his pedes. Apparently, the red youngling had been curiously opening the furniture and found something special in the belly of the chest. Looking over at the excited youngling, Ratchet saw a note scribbled on a datasheet lying on the floor. As Sunstreaker went over to see what was making his brother so happy, the medic read the note.

_I forgot to mention that there was a special promotion today. I hope what I put in the chest is okay. _

_Cobalt_

Ratchet peered into the chest and smiled at what he saw.

* * *

With the twins' room set up and Prowl caught up on the situation; the Enforcer quickly surveyed Ratchet's living space, deemed the apartment safe for younglings to dwell, and swiftly led his family home to scour off Bluestreak's new 'paintjob.' Ratchet had decided to follow Prowl's example and put Sideswipe and Sunstreaker in a tub full of foamy solvent, scrubbing away all of the caked on filth and dried paint from their small frames.

He wasn't sure if it was warm temperature of the solvent, the stress of a very eventful day, or even just the repetitive motion of his servos, but Ratchet soon found both twins on the verge of recharge in the middle of their washing. The medic quickly finished cleaning them up, dried them off, and settled them both into the bottom bunk for a proper rest. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were cuddled close together like the night before; the only difference was that they now snuggled with the two red and yellow robowolf dolls that Cobalt had left in the chest earlier.

"Goodnight, brightsparks," Ratchet said gently rubbing their helms.

Ratchet didn't get a response this night-cycle. The twins had conked out almost immediately after they were put on the berth. He smiled fondly and scooted the potted crystals a little closer to foot of the berth, having it act as a nightlight of sorts, before he left to let the younglings recharge in peace.

* * *

**Okay, there you go, my updated story is now up. I hope you guys can forgive me for taking so long. I would have had the next chapter done already but I had gotten sick and couldn't really focus. It will be up by next week and I promise to be better about updating from now on. Did any of you catch who I was giving a shout out? Thanks for being a great friend, Robowolfkid!**

**The rest of you guys can drop as many reviews if it pleases you. I know it makes me happy.**


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